OSCE awards Prize for Journalism and Democracy to Heorhii Gongadze

by Andrew Nynka

PARIS - The sixth OSCE Prize for Journalism and Democracy was accepted on July 6 by the widows of murdered journalists Jose Luis Lopez de Lacalle (Spain) and Heorhii Gongadze (Ukraine). The Spanish and Ukrainian journalists were posthumously awarded the prize for the "furthering of OSCE values by intervening in conflicts and secretive political environments through their writing."

Raymond Forni, speaker of the French National Assembly, presented Myroslava Gongadze and Artolazabal de Lopez de Lacalle with the shared prize.

The newly re-elected president of the OSCE, Adrian Severin of Romania, recalled that this was the sixth time the OSCE PA has presented the prize, which has become an important and well-recognized OSCE instrument in the promotion of freedom of the media.

Commenting on the ceremony, Orest Deychakiwsky, staff advisor of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, called Ms. Gongadze's acceptance speech "a powerful and moving acceptance of the OSCE Journalism and Democracy Prize for Heorhii, which was met by prolonged standing ovations from the 300 parliamentarians from 52 countries gathered there."

(For the text of Ms. Gongadze's speech see page 6.)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 29, 2001, No. 30, Vol. LXIX

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